News 13:00

BULLETIN 7 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA welcomes Andy Mothibi as the National Director of Public Prosecutions amid concerns over the appointment process
# The US backs security guarantees for Ukraine at a summit of Kyiv’s allies in Paris
# And Olympics: The Winter Games are back on track after cold weather in northeastern Italy

# The DA welcomes the appointment of Andy Mothibi as new National Director of Public Prosecutions. Spokesperson Glynnis Breytenbach says the former head of the Special Investigation Unit, magistrate, and prosecutor is well-suited to lead the National Prosecuting Authority, which faces crime and internal challenges. She criticises delays and deficiencies in president Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment process, urging filling of deputy director positions and improved long-term prosecutorial management:

# Acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia has quashed suggestions that the investigation into the murder of Tembisa Hospital whistleblower Babita Deokaran has been mishandled. The triggermen were convicted of her assassination in 2023; however, the masterminds have not been arrested to date. Cachalia has also denied suggestions that Deokaran’s technological devices were not properly analysed after she was shot and killed. He says a forensic investigation was conducted by the cybercrime department within Crime Intelligence.

# Eskom says there are no new or emerging breaches to the Online Vending System, following decisive actions taken to curb fraud, secure systems, protect revenue, and safeguard customers. Syndicates operating inside the power utility sold large volumes of electricity on the black market for as little as 25 cents per unit. Eskom’s spokesperson, Aubrey Sambo, says they have implemented a comprehensive review and intervention strategy to mitigate vulnerabilities and restore system integrity:

Moving abroad:

# The United States for the first time backed a broad coalition of Ukraine’s allies in vowing to provide security guarantees leaders say would include binding commitments to support the country if Russia attacks again. The pledge came at a summit in Paris of mainly European nations to firm up guarantees to reassure Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. The summit was also attended by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and America’s top general in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich.

# Olympics: The Milano Cortina Winter Games in Italy is back on track after earlier concerns over the amount of snow. This follows colder weather in the northeastern parts of the country. The president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, Johan Eliasch, says this had helped address earlier concerns over snow-farming and snow-making at key sites. He also believes future Winter Games should be hosted at snow-secure venues at higher altitudes. The Games will take place from the sixth to the 22nd of next month.   

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-43-cents and the euro at 19-rand-19-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-66-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-462-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-19-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….